Gadgets for men - all about cool electronic gadgets for guys

Finding the Best iPad Speakers

John Pope — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:54:02 +0000

What are considered the best iPad speakers will differ from user to user, and from those with different requirements, and those who have different uses for their iPads. The crystal clear display of the iPad makes it perfect for watching movies, and an excellent speaker system would make the experience all the more enjoyable. Whilst smaller speakers are easier for travel, and allow the user to watch their favourite films or listen to their favourite music wherever they are. Here follows a look at some of the best speakers for the iPad, for whichever purpose.

In today’s world the need for wires is usually disregarded, and there is no better example than the Logic3 system using Bluetooth from up to 10 metres away. Of course the usefulness of a wireless system always relies on the amount of battery time it can sustain, which in this case is five hours. Battery time is usually an overestimation, but with a 6W power output it should be worth the occasional recharge. This model also boasts a pretty cool design, characteristic of most Logic3 products.

Compact speakers are an important asset for any iPad user as travel will probably be on their agenda. One product specifically designed for the iPad is the Invero Mini with wireless capability and two to eight hours battery time. It also has 3.5mm adapter so that you can conserve battery life. It offers a decent 2.5W speaker but is not powerful enough to be considered for anything but life on the road, so to speak.

Considering the best iPad speakers to use can be a difficult task, but, if you are unable to decide, you can always keep your old iPod or iPhone speaker dock system and use the Airphonic Set. This is a rather clever system with two adapters, one fitting into the iPad and another fitting into the speaker system, allowing the iPad to stream music straight to the speakers, and also enabling the free use of your iPad while listening to music.

Sony SRS-BTM30 wireless speakers

Netbook comparison – or how to choose the netbooks for your needs

Vic — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 18:40:49 +0000

Do you need to write a netbook comparison or you just want to buy one and you can’t decide which one to choose? Even if it seems to be simple, this netbook ratings business is more difficult than you may think, especially if you want to do a good job.

Having that said, what are the aspects to look at when you have to compare mini laptops?

The most important aspect is the efficiency of the netbooks, meaning how well they manage to run certain software products, an application or an OS. Believe it or not, but most of the people are interested in a number of applications, and they want to be sure that the netbook they want can actually perform those tasks. For example: can both netbooks run HD movies?

Also, any netbook comparison should refer to the battery’s lifetime, especially if you plan in using the netbook outdoors or you need it for longer time frames (like for teaching). Do not forget this detail, as the battery lifetime does differ a lot from netbook to netbook, mostly if they were built in different years.

Weight can also be a criteria for comparison. When it comes to compare netbooks, the lighter the computer the better, but in case that one of the compared netbooks is far lighter than the others, you may want to examine if this is because of the creative design or because it lacks some features. And talking about weight, don’t forget to compare laptops with the same size, otherwise weight may be an obsolete criteria to compare them.

Of course, do not forget to think of the price-value proportion. Do the features a netbook has make it worth the money? Can you find the same type of PC for less? Or perhaps you want something more? Those are important questions, and you should ask them to yourself before making a buying decision.

If you want to perform a realistic netbook comparison, you should avoid making the common mistake to taking two PC’s that have different features and characteristics. My recommendation is to compare only computers that were built in the same year, and have the same size otherwise you may quickly realize that it will be impossible to compare them.

You don’t have to be a computer geek to compare netbooks, you just have to pay attention to a few aspects that really matter when it comes to buying one. Simple, isn’t it?

Best iPad accessories: which types do I find in stores?

John Pope — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:23:49 +0000

The world of accessories for iPad is getting bigger and bigger day by day. Everyday a different product appears. The great competition between many different iPad accessory producers will hopefully lead to the creation of the very best iPad accessories.

Some might say that the best iPad accessories are the ones produced by Apple. And it is true for some of them. For example you will not find too many third party companies that produce the USB connector or a pair of headphones as good as Apple’s. But they didn’t contribute too much when they released only one iPad case for sale. But they launched the frenzy.

The number one accessory that you have to have if you own an iPad is a good iPad case. Whether you chose Apple’s case or go for a leather folio, make sure you give you device the protection it needs. In case you’re worried you will eventually drop the iPad or somehow it will hit the ground, eventually, and then dress it in a hard interior case with serious anti-damage resistance. If you like it funky and colorful, and want to keep you iPad away from dust and fingerprints, then take a look at the silicone colored iPad covers. Or maybe you like to style your stuff: then you should keep an eye out for the trendy leather cases, if you prefer the feel of the material, or maybe some diamonds attached to it wouldn’t hurt your looks (if you’re a bit glamorous).

The other essential accessories for iPad completely depend on you, the user. One of the best iPad accessories is the support which keeps your iPad vertical, if you want to watch a video or a slideshow. And you can make one yourself! Or, there is a special kit that lets you connect your iPad to a TV set, when watching a movie or looking at pictures. It’s available in the Apple store, but it is possible for you to gasp at its price. At least you can be sure it’s genuine and you get a quality product and not something that will wreck in a few day’s time.

Another useful must-have is the USB charger, because no matter how long you stay away from the computer, you can still recharge your batteries after they run out. It’s actually a small white dock, in which you insert the end of your computer connecting wire, and voila! Insert it into an outlet and let it charge.

No matter what iPad accessories you choose to buy, be careful and ask yourself if it’s right for you and if you really need it. Look always for functionality before anything else.

iPod MP3 players – a short story

Vic — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:34:53 +0000

Almost everyone has heard of an iPod. What is an iPod? Well, it’s a portable media player, it was designed by the company named Apple and its launch date was in the year 2001 on the 23rd of October. The line of products is a large one. It includes the hard-drive based iPod Classic, iPod Touch which has a touch screen, iPod Nano which can also play videos and the compact iPod Shuffle. The iPhone can also be used as an iPod but it’s usually treated as a different product.

Other iPod products that aren’t produced anymore are the iPod Mini and the iPod Photo. The iPod Classic has an internal hard drive where all the media is stored, but on other products, a flash memory is used especially because of their smaller size. Other than a portable media player, an iPod can also be used as external data storage devices. The capacity of an iPod differs from model to model; it can go from 2GB, which is usually the storage an iPod Shuffle has, to 160GB for an iPod Classic.

It can be said that one of the disadvantages of an iPod is that the only way one can store music, videos or photos one it is through the iTunes application. Of course there are several alternatives for users who chose not to use Apple’s software, but we all know how alternatives seldom work. Besides music, photos and videos, an iPod can also save contact information, e-mail settings, web bookmarks and calendars.

iPod - 9 yeas of history

An iPod can be connected to a computer through a FireWire and it can also be a way to recharge the battery. There is also the possibility to recharge the battery with a power adapter. Beginning with the third generation of iPods, Apple has included the possibility of USB connectivity.

Because they became very popular, lots of iPod accessories started to be produced, such as sound recorders, audio/visual cables for TV connections, speakers, FM radio tuners. Some of them can even be used as accessories for iPad, so you get more bang for the buck. There can also be found different accessories for cars so that a driver can control an iPod using the built-in steering wheel controls. This kind of accessory was first released by BMW, but in time many other car producers started to use it when producing cars, such as Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan and many more.

There are also fashionable accessories, such as iPod cases, speakers, headsets and many more like them.

So expect more from the iPods. Next year there will be 10 years since they first debuted, so Apple should celebrate this with a new in innovation. What it might be? We don’t know, but perhaps you do?

Best iPad cases – where can you find them?

John Pope — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:41:11 +0000

Apple iPad is certainly the gadget of the year, no doubt about that. It’s the one gadget that opened perspectives for a new niche, right between netbooks and large screen smartphones. Rumors about Apple’s tablet were speculated for a long time ago, but nothing really surfaced until January 27th when Steve Jobs officially announced it. Even if it won’t be available in stores till sometime in April many accessories manufacturers have already announced products for it, especially carrying cases and sleeves.

A good iPad case is a must

Given the price of modern gadgets and the likeliness to scratch it is a wise choice to get yourself the best iPad case you can find and afford. First of all, because the Apple iPad is going to have a bigger touch-display, thus protecting it from fingerprints and scratches is a must. Then, because it’s slim, so might get severely damaged if dropped, thus a proper zip case or a silicone rugged body would come in handy. And finally, because when you pay more than 500 bucks for a gadget, you should definitely make sure you’ll have it for a long time, thus properly protecting from all types of damaging sources.

In this post I’ll try and show you the best places where you can find such protection accessories for the Apple iPad. As always, follow the classic tips when choosing: think of what you want from the product you’re purchasing and keep in mind your budget.

Now let’s get back to the places where you can find the best iPad cases around:

Top with best iPad cases
list with the best Ipad cases and covers based on type and category (zipper cases, screen protectors, folios, bags, and many more options)

And there are other too, but these should be enough to get you started. For now, the market for iPad cases and accessories is still small, but in time it will grow. So if you find any interesting case or cover that should be mentioned in here, don’t hesitate to post a comment.

Best iPad cases to date

Tuff-Luv Napa Leather case cover – 59.99$

This is one of the best leather cases found today in stores, not because it looks business, but also because is made from Napa leather, which gives it the advantage of smooth finish and great touch feeling. It’s a little costly, but that doesn’t make it bad, as it doubles also as a iPad stand with 5 adjustable angles of view, from 20 to 70 degrees. Don’t be fooled by the black finish, as the Tuff Luv Napa leatehr case cover for iPad can be found in various color variations.

Tuff-Luv multi-view Napa Leather case cover

Marware Eco-Vue – 42.76$

Marware is one of the few companies out there concerned about the environment, as their whole product line of iPad cases is geared towards using eco materials and building techniques. In case of the Eco-Vue, the material of choice is eco fake leather that retains the aspect of the genuine leather, costs less and it doesn’t kill the environment. What more could you want? For starters the interior microfiber is scratch protective for your iPad screen. The screen cover can be folded on the back just like a stand, so you get multiple functionality. A special handle grip makes it easy to use the iPad as a tablet while standing up. That’s for a little bit over 40 bucks.

Marware Eco-Vue

Targus Hughes Leather Portfolio Slipcase – 59.99$

This is one of the few cases that doesn’t resemble a carrying case, as it looks more like a Manila envelope, in a classy brown color. It’s the leather case that says: “I have taste and can afford it”. It’s not really for show off, but to make an impression on your job interview. Soft Twill Lining Protects against scratches and the exterior is oiled tanned, which means it’s durable and will resist the test of time if you’re careful enough not to scratch it against other sufraces.

Targus Hughes Leather Portfolio Slipcase

Of course there are many other ipad cases around that deserve your attention but the ones presented above are the best ipad cases for those who don’t want any compromise. If you’re not in that category there’s a best ipad case for you out there. All you have to do is look for it and for sure you’ll find something to satisfy your needs.

Why should you use a laptop desk stand?

John Pope — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:48:49 +0000

With the growing use of laptops by people of every age and occupation it’s normal for new health problems and types of diseases to appear, as till a few years ago laptop use was limited to a few and those people didn’t use it all day long like it happens now when notebook started replacing desktops as the main computing device.

In this case it’s normal for new types of researches and accessories to hit the market in order to alleviate those new rising problems. One of those new types of accessories are the laptop desk stands, destined for use while sitting at a desk. A laptop desk stand is a kind of riser for your laptop thus helping with your notebook’s cooling and making your neck stand straight as the screen is now placed at the same level with your eyes, plus your hands form a natural 90 degrees angle at your elbow and your palms are not inclined from horizontal. Some units have laptop cushions getting things to a more comfortable level.

It might not seem much but a laptop desk stand helps you achieve almost the same level of ergonomics like you were sitting on a desk and using a normal desktop computer with a keyboard and mouse. There are of course other types of laptop stands that help with your body’s sitting position while using it on the road, on a sofa, on the bed or in other places inaccessible to desktops. Keep the health problems in mind, buy a laptop stand and you’ll be fine. And a side note for students: even if you’re young and don’t have enough money to invest expensive machines and look towards offers of laptops for students put some money aside for a laptop desk stand as healthiness is priceless. Oh, and don’t try and send one via mail without using a digital postal scale before and calculate your fees as those things are quite heavy.

Sony brings new Bluetooth Headphones

Vic — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:44:28 +0000

Sony launched a couple of Bluetooth compatible headsets, not the smallest bluetooth headset, but they are specially designed for mobile phones usage, but which can also be paired with other gadgets, like PMPs or music players.

Wireless technology is the future, that’s a fact. And this headphones are a proof of this, if one needed. Sony brings first the mid level model, DR-BT21G, a headset that supports A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP protocols for phones and has a hands-free function for your GSM or 3G gadgets. Weighting just 63 g, you won’t even feel them on your ears. They come in two colours: stylish white and classic black. I must reckon that I would have loved to see Sony thinking to bring a pink bluetooth headset with the DR-BT21G, but maybe next time.

Sony DR-BT21G are great bluetooth headphones for your mobile phone

If you want something more sophisticated, Sony has the DR-BT50 model, which has all the capabilities of its baby brother headset, but offers superior acoustic quality and can make a good team with wireless media players. Functioning on frequencies from 20 Hz to 20 MHz, this model is a little bulkier, weighting 180 g. But that’s still light, considering the great autonomy of around 17 hours of operation time, isn’t it?

Sony DR-BT50: high quality bluetooth headset

Source: Akihabara News

Stop that television being the focal point of your room

Gadget Road — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:44:33 +0000

The decreasing prices of LCD televisions has resulted in larger screens for many households. The most used location for these to be placed, estimated at 75%, is above the fireplace in the central room of the house. The increase in size both women and designers have been having stern issues with a 50-70? black glass object as the centrepiece and main point of the living room.

From a distance it is simply a visual or mechanical change when the television is hidden away, to many it can change the entire atmosphere of the room. Even when the display has been turned off, attention is either consciously or unconsciously drawn towards the blank screen. This is not just a figment of peoples imaginations, it is very real, and it can have a direct effect on both the d√©cor and atmosphere of the room.

Concealment devices are more often than not custom made furniture. Due to both tv sizes and room measurements there is no single solution that works for everyone, hence why systems such as these tv stands often cost more than the Flat Panel TV itself. The justification lies in that the time, money and creative effort spent in making the room look great is not destroyed by trying to make a 50″ piece of black glass blend easily into the room decor. And that’s doable with the right LCD TV Stands.

If you were to look into extensive market research you would see there are a a number of solutions to get around this problem. All with certain pros and cons. The widely used option is usually a mechanical tv lift.

A TV lift effectively combines both an item of furniture and a TV stand. It gives the user the power to switch between viewing a piece of everyday furniture or viewing the plasma television. This is operated using a remote controlled lifting device which is fitted inside the piece of furniture. Once activated this mechanism will cause a lift to move which in turn will cause the TV to gently rise from the furniture and effectively turn it into a tv stand.

This operating system effectively solves all the problems bought to attention by a home designer. The rooms look and feel does not have to be compromised, just modified in a way which cannot be seen unless controlled. The television no longer has to be in full view unless you require it to be. As well as this there are security benefits which mean your tv is a lot less likely to be thiefed or broken in the every day hussle around your home.

Conclusion -
No matter what efforts television manufacturers put into their aesthetic design, they can’t solve the problem of having a large blank screen take over a room when the TV is off. If you own a TV plasma you know what I mean. It is no surprise then, that demand for concealment solutions has been doubling each year.

By educating themselves about concealment mechanisms, professionals such as TDK can offer the home owner a solution allows a big television to be hidden within the decor using a TV lift, while maintaining the visual design of the room. It is a win-win situation for both parties.

Pink computers are getting more and more popular

Vic — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:11:43 +0000

There’s one thing o noticed lately, smaller and more colorful computers are getting more and more popular. My explanation is pretty simple: more and more women and kids start using a mobile computer so they look for cook pink laptops and such.

That’s why netbooks grew so much in the last years, as they offer reduced weight and are powerful enough to run the basic applications a regular user would run. And that’s why producers now offer their computer in bizarre colors, like magenta, cyan, pink, etc. Just take a look at the market 3 or 4 years ago. Most laptops were grey or black, with very few “escapes” from Sony or maybe Apple. But now…

On the other way, i find pink laptops and electronic devices in general annoying. If my girlfriend would want to buy such a thing, I’m pretty sure i would tell her a couple of “words”. It’s not like it would make any difference, but anyway

Also, i tend to see pink computers are getting even more diversified. They started as plain and simple, now producers offer their pink devices with various designs and patterns. Also, more and more campaigns are started around pink electronics, to attract more the feminine target.

And in some cases, pink computers are even cheaper than the classic black ones. Not much, but 5 to 10% is still a significant discount, and this year on Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales period i’m looking for even bigger discounts on such products.

Still i wonder, if any of my readers are women or girls, would you buy a pink laptop? Do you read one or more Hi Tech Gadgets Review before deciding what to buy or not? I don’t know about others, but i for one associate pink computers with one word: “skanky”…

Gas leaf blowers. Are they really that noisy?

Vic — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:34:39 +0000

My old leaf blower is pretty noisy

There was a pretty nasty storm last night and my lawn looked like a mess it passed. That’s why this morning i decided I’d take out my leaf blower from the garage and give it a spin , making the back yard look a little more decent. Weird enough, this kind of annoyed one of my neighbors because i was doing too much noise with my tool.

Well, i must say i have a pretty old gas powered leaf blower and it’s not that silent. But heck, i didn’t even notice the sound, i use a pair of protecting ear muffs and my friends tell me I’m a little bit deaf anyway )

Still, after a short argue with my neighbor i continued my work promising I’ll try to get a new device till fall. Because i don’t want him to call the police for disturbing neighborhood’s silence or something.

So, i went online to look for such devices and i couldn’t find that many. There were some on eBay but the sellers were not trust worthy enough and i also found a site with best leaf blowers reviews. They claim they surf the web and gather the best choices they will find online in one place and then i could buy these products from Shops like Amazon, Buy.com etc via their site. They don’t have too many offers though but i reckon they’ll add more in the near future.

Anyway, i found something interesting enough, it’s a gas leaf blower called Troy Bilt with more features than i would need. It almost fits my budget of 100 bucks (it costs 105 with a big discount) and i can get it from Amazon, and i allready have an account on that site. Still, I’m not sure if this device will be any less noisy than my old one.

So, I’m asking you guys for advice. What should i do? Should i buy this product? I kind of like it and consider it a good choice. But how about the noise… Or, perhaps i should just ignore my neighbor and still use my old tool? Hmm, tough decision, what do you think?

What kind of GPS devices can you find on the market?

Vic — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:43:22 +0000

Do you want to know what kind of device you have to use in order to connect to the global localization satellites? I’ve made a detailed presentation about all types of GPS devices you can find on the market.

Dedicated GPS devices

When someone refers to the general term GPS (ex: I bought a GPS), he/she refers to a dedicated device to this function, which must have a receptor capable to communicate with the GPS satellites, through a built-in receptor. These are usually bigger equipments, that can be put rather in your car, on the windscreen or on board. Most of them have a car charger, and some of them even have a special antenna that can be fixed on the exterior, for a better reception of the satellites. A conclusive example for this group is Garmin nuvi 1360 or Mio C720b, both of them with a 4,3 inch screen. GPS Best Prices can be found here.

It seems pretty difficult to carry it in your pocket, doesn’t it?

These equipments have been especially created for the terrestrial geographical location, and the big and tactile screen makes them really easy to use and to be observed in traffic, when you can’t really pay too much attention doing too many things at once.

Motorcycles GPS

What if you have a motorcycle? You can’t really mount something like that on your yoke, because for sure, that’s not quite a smart idea. But happily there’s a GPS for motorcycles too. Unfortunately, you don’t have too much options, because in Romania Garmin is the only one who has brought such equipments, and the Zumo 660 model is the latest one of them. These equipments are humidity-proof, windproof, shockproof and motor oil-proof and have more commands for your left hand so the right one never leaves the handlebar. Also, the menu has big icons, that you can touch even with your gloves on. Here is where you can find details about the other GPS equipments for motorcycles.

Sailing GPS

Obviously, there are also equipments for the time you leave the land and you get on a boat, barge or a yacht. Considering the budget and boat’s size, you can choose between a portable device, for example Ifinder Hunt (which especially helps you in sea hunting or land hunting – link) and one that’s more of a board processor, more exactly a chartplotter (this is how complex boat localization devices are called), for example Garmin GPSMAP 4210. This one has a 26,4 cm screen and a lot of functions that helps you sail, assisted of course by the GPS.

Devices with GPS function

What’s different from a dedicated GPS device? The GPS localization function for these equipments (PDAs, smartphones, mobile phones) is a secondary one. Any PDA or intelligent mobile phone can be used as a GPS receptor. Some of them even have a built-in GPS receptor, for example the new HTC Touch Pro2 or Mio A702M. Even though their design is totally different, considering the built-in maps, they both can catch as well the GPS satellite signal.

External Bluetooth devices with GPS function

Other equipments (mobiles or smartphones) can have the same function, but don’t have a built-in receptor. This doesn’t mean you can’t connect them separately. For example, HTC GPS Just Mobil is such a device, which once connected to a mobile or a smartphone has the ability to pick up GPS satellites.

But be aware! The mobile or the smartphone should have a preinstalled GPS software and maps in order for it to work properly. Nokia has created an equipment called Bluetooth GPS Module LD-4W, especially to transform Nokia in GPS navigators. As it’s name says, it can connect to the mobile through Bluetooth and is compatible with 50 Nokia mobiles.

Tracking with GPS devices

Last but not least, GPS is a smart way of tracking your goods. Cars, motorcycles, etc now have a hidden gps vehicle tracking sensor that really comes useful when they got stolen and you can find out very fast where is your car or bike.

But don’t hurry yet to buy such a receptor. At least not until you verify it’s compatibility with your mobile phone. Good luck!

Photo cameras – the basic guide

Vic — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:42:36 +0000

For a few years, digital photo cameras don’t represent a caprice anymore, but a gadget anyone can afford. Considering price is one of the main characteristics customers guide themselves when buying a photo camera and the producer’s offer is really vast, especially in the reduced price category, that’s why it is really important to know what parameters to look for, to make the right decision.

The parameters below are essential if you want to buy a mainstream or an entry level photo camera, these being the categories where producers hide important features and highlight the “popular” ones, which aren’t necessarily the essential ones for the camera’s performance.

Number of Megapixels

Megapixels are the characteristic of the photo sensor that will determine the image’s final resolution. For example, a 1000×1000 px picture means 1 MPx. The number of megapixels is determined by multiplying the horizontal resolution by the vertical one. The number of megapixels is one of the frequently used characteristics to compare two photo cameras, however it is also the worst way, because the image’s quality is mainly determined by the photo sensor’s size and the objective’s quality. Same as most cheap photo cameras have the same sensor dimension, means smaller and compact pixels on its surface, pixels that will share the same quantity of light that touches the sensor’s surface. A resolution bigger than 5-6 MPx is made only for professionals, so don’t get fooled by the 10 MPx offered at $100 – $120 .

The lens aperture (the objective’s opening, which determines the quantity of light that will touch the photo sensor)

Usually, for every photo camera or objective (if we’re talking about DSLR photo camera with interchangeable objectives) there are two aperture reports specified, one for the minimum focal length and another one for the maximum focal length. Reports look like f/x, x having values like 1,2, 2.8, 4, 5.6 etc. For the mainstream and entry level cameras, f/2.8 values are typical for the minimum focal length aperture (wide) and f/5.6, f/8 for the maximum focal length (telephoto). Higher values like f/2, f/1 indicate very bright objectives, that allow more clear photos in reduced luminosity conditions or at smaller ISO values.

Optical zoom

Regarding the zoom (how much can “we approach” this subject without physically moving) there must be made a difference between optical zoom (made by lens moving and focal length modification) and digital zoom (artificial enlargement of the photo, enlargement that can be made with a photo editor software.)

The only characteristic that matters for the zoom is the optical one. The bigger the zoom, the better the details of objects beyond. We must keep in mind that if the optical zoom is too big, it means an unprofessional photo objective, that will visibly distort geometrical characteristics of the photos made at extreme values (very wide or very telephoto position of the objective’s).

Charging

What’s also important is the way the camera recharges: with AA, AAA batteries or rechargeable batteries, different from one model to another. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages: with AA and AAA batteries, the autonomy is smaller but the advantage is that you can always carry a supply of one or two pairs. And, if you use rechargeable batteries, you’ll always have to take the battery recharger. In case of rechargeable batteries different from one model to another, the advantage is that of a bigger autonomy, but in time, their capacity decreases and they must be replaced. Here’s the disadvantage: bigger price compared to that of rechargeable batteries and reduced duration.

Storage media

A last criteria is the way photos are stored. Because on the market there are over 20 memory card types, you should also consider what format uses the camera you want to buy: the more popular the format, the bigger is the possibility to use it with other devices, plus the advantage of a smaller price per gigabyte. You should look for cameras that support one of the following formats: Secure Digital (SD), SDHC, mini SD, micro SD, mini SDHC and micro SDHC. Don’t forget that mini SD and micro SD can be used in SD slots using a converter, and micro SD and mini SDHC in SDHC slots, also using a converter. Although SD and SDHC cards look the same, the first ones can be used in SDHC slots, but not vice versa.

These are the most important characteristics you have to look for when you want to buy a mainstream or entry level photo camera, professional photo cameras being a little bit more complicated, therefore I will elaborate this subject in a future article.

Top digital photo printers – 3 good choices for every budget

Vic — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:13:09 +0000

Today we’re going to have a small post on digital photo printers . You must admit that it is much more pleasant to watch a photo album “in flesh and blood”, than on your PC. A printed photo gives a sentimental value to it. You’ll always be touched while regarding it and reading what’s written on its back, and you’ll be projecting yourself into that moment, one that belongs to you.

Digital photo printers - the easy way to get real photos

If before entering digital era, you had an apology for not going to developing centers, now, with a photo printer, you can have your own photo album very easily. In the next lines I’m going to suggest you a couple of photo printers for all budgets. For more details about each particular printer, you will have to read the dedicated articles.

Canon Selphy CP760- this is one of the best buy digital printer in the market, thanks to its price and decent features. In this post you can find out more about the Canon Selphy CP760.

HP A526- this one cost twice as much as the previous one, but it’s more compact and smarter: better printing resolution and way faster. So, i would reckon this is a good choice for the standard user. Here you can read more about the HP A526 .

Sony DPP-FP97 – this one is from the top notch category: design, functionality, speed, it has all you need. With an appropriate price tag of course. More details in this review of the Sony DPP-FP97 .

All in one, these photo printers are great “accessories” for your camera. They provide good quality photos and are meant for those unwilling to travel to the store (like me).

That’s all for today. I’ve tried to suggest you 3 photo printers that can fulfill the needs and demands of any user. Please share your thoughts in the comments area bellow.

Would you buy a cordless leaf blower?

Vic — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:21:45 +0000

I know that’s not the usual subject we reach here on GadgetRoad , but i was curious if you would ever buy a cordless leaf blower (electric sweeper). After-all, these tools can be considered everyday house accessories, especially during the fall season.

That bothers me because i wanted to buy such a device and i started searching the WEB for the best offers. I found a site with many products and price cuts on leaf blowers , but they had very few cordless versions. Also, they say that these cordless devices have quite a few inconvenient: limited operational time of just 30 minutes, limited power and high price. The last one might not be a problem, cause i found this Black & Decker NS118 on Amazon for just $70 . But the other two…

Anyway, i still want to buy it, but I’m not sure how good will it be. I reckon it will do just fine sweeping the deck or the step-ways, but will fail at blowing leafs and debriefs from the lawn. A gas powered blower might be better for that, but i hate the noise it makes and the smell of burned gas.

So, if any of you have such had a similar dilemma before, please help me with an advice or two. I really have to buy this device asap, cause price cuts for leaf blowers won’t stay that big for too long, as fall approaches.

Sony DPP-FP97 – top notch digital photo printer

Vic — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:01:27 +0000

When you need a digital printer, there are many options available on the market. Some good, some better and some the best. And the Sony DPP-FP97 is one of the last ones, cause it simply has everything you may need.

First of all, it’s pretty compact: 7.1 in x 5.4 in x 2.6 in and 2.6 lbs . It also looks very nice, with a stylish black finish and lots of buttons (as you can see in the images bellow).

Sony DPP FP97 - top notch digital photo printer

These buttons are not just there as a decoration, cause this Sony printer also has lots of functions and settings for image processing and printing, both automatic and manual. It has a 2.5″ LCD display on top so you can see the picture before printing it, but it also has a HDMI output so you can connect the printer to an LCD or Plasma if needed.

You can print images from a card or stick or even by sending them directly via Bluetooth. Printing speed is OK considering you get photo lab quality photos: 45 seconds for the maximum quality of a standard 4 x 6 inch pic.

So, as you can see, the Sony DPP-FP97 it’s top notch in its class. Unfortunately all these features come with a higher price tag, as this camera cost around $199 . The appropriate photo printer is also a little bit more expensive, as the standard 120 pics set will cost you $45 (you can get it here for $35 though, for a limited period of time).

But, after all this Sony DPP-F97 is the best. And since quality also comes with a higher price, we still consider it a very good digital premium photo printer that we’d love to have around.

HP A526 – fast photo printer with a decent price

Vic — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 09:44:28 +0000

If you’re looking for a digital photo printer faster and smarter than the Canon CP 760, then the HP A526 might be your choice.

It’s true that this HP A526 photo printer is not at all as good looking or as compact (it measures 227×116x137,4 mm). Personally, I don’t like its design, but it has some extras, that deserve to be noticed.

HP A526 - an ugly printer, but faast

First of all, it has a thermal inkjet printing technology. This means a faster printing process. A 4×6 inch picture will be printed in 39 seconds on draft print mode and in 50 seconds on normal print mode. At first sight, there’s no difference between this and the 80 seconds of the Canon printer, but if you have for example, 50 pictures to print, you’ll spend 25 more minutes.

Another advantage for ink jet printing, is that you can use more paper types, and HP has been taking care of that, producing all kinds of paper, and you’ll also find consumables everywhere. And these consumables will be cheaper too.

Another big advantage of HP Q8351A printer is that comes with a multi-format card reader, extremely useful if you want to skip the cable connecting phase. At this price, you even have a little 6,1 cm LCD, where you can see pictures before printing them.

All these extra features come with an increased price. But the HP A526 is still affordable, as it will cost around $139 on Amazon and can be at your door in just a couple of days.

Canon SELPHY CP760 – ultra-compact and affordable photo printer

Vic — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:00:16 +0000

Canon Selphy CP760 is one of the most accessible photo printers that can still be found in shops these days.

At only 7.9 x 3.3 x 5.6 inches , it’s extremelly compact and light. It can print on photographic paper with a maximum dimensions of 4×8 inches. The 300×300 dpi resolution is the standard for compact photo printers, and printing is made by sublimation toner cartridge.

Canon Cp760 - cheap can equal good quaility

Don’t think that your picture will look like the ones printed on regular printers. No, this is a photo printer and the quality of the finished photo is very good. But i takes time: a 4×6 inch picture (post card’s dimensions) will be printed in almost 80 seconds. Yes, that’s quite slow, because the special photo paper goes four times through the printing process. The first three times are for the three basic colors, and the last time, the photo is finished by adding an extra protector film.

When you pull the picture out of the printer, you can touch it and see that the color does not spot as you were used from the regular ink printers. Therefore, pictures last for a longer period of time. Canon Selphy CP760 has an USB connector, so you can plug it into your PC or in your photo camera. Also, it can print pictures directly from a stick or from a card.

You can find canon photo paper in almost any shop that sells photo cameras or printers. A three cartridge set enough for 108 photo papers costs approximately $30 . The Canon Selphy CP760 usually costs around $120, but you can get it on Amazon for just $40 for a limited period of time (not sure how long will the stocks last at this price).

What component consumes your laptop battery the most?

Vic — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:57:05 +0000

Have you ever asked yourself which components consume the most from your laptop battery? I suppose it wasn’t one of your primordial questions, but the answer to this question, is actually useful: knowing what consumes the battery, you can increase the autonomy by not using that much those components or by setting manually their operating speed (if it’s the processor, RAM etc).

Well, hardware and software producers are preoccupied by this aspect, and that is why on Windows 7 developing team’s blog, has been published an article regarding the way the laptop’s battery is consumed and what components, software, drivers influences its autonomy.

The responsible components for the battery’s autonomy are the following:

LCD screen
Chipset
CPU
Graphics card
Hard disk
Network card (wireless or with wire)

This list is also influenced by component choosing , for example an on board graphics chipset consumes more than a normal chipset, but altogether the laptop has a bigger autonomy thanks to its lack of on board Graphics. The study does not cater for external devices which the users could connect to USB ports (USB Wireless Card, USB external drive, SD card, USB thumbdrive), Firewire, Express card etc. These are the ones that decrease more the autonomy of your laptop.

The conclusion is pretty simple: in order to have a big autonomy, you will need a big capacity battery, a screen with manually decreased luminosity, an efficient on-board graphs chipset, lots of RAM so it won’t be necessary to use the hard disk too much, a strong WiFi signal and the most important, you must run applications that won’t require too much your CPU or your Graphs card. And obviously, you must not connect external devices. Note that software plays an important part of a laptop battery life and you can use registry cleaners to maintain your Windows installation up to date and clean, free of pieces of code that only make your CPU consume more power.

Touchless Infrared Automatic Trash Can

John Pope — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:10:42 +0000

If you think you’ve seen it all then you surely haven’t heard of the iTouchless Infrared Automatic Trash Can, a stainless steel 13 gallon trash can that opens automatically when you approach it. If you think about it, it makes sense: when you work in the kitchen you have your hands dirty and don’t want to touch lid to throw something inside the trash can.

iTouchless automatic trash can

The working principle is pretty simple: iTouchless uses an infrared sensor to detect movement up to 6 inches away and when it does the lid opens automatically. After no movement is detected (ie. your hand is away from the trash can), the lid closes by itself.

This is how iTouchless trash can works

If something goes wrong there are the traditional on/off switch and manual open/close lid buttons. Power to the iTouchless comes from 4 D sized batteries that will last up to a year.

Learn to convert video files with Super Video Converter

Vic — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:36:33 +0000

How many times did you need to convert a video file from one type to enother (DivX, Mpeg 4, MP4, flash, DVD, etc)? If it happened to you at least once, then you know how hard it is to find a good and easy software to help you. Not to mention codecs, that are a nightmare if you don’t have them already installed.

But don’t panic, there is a very simple way to convert video files. There is a free software, named Super Video Converter, which includes all necessary codecs and it’s produced by Eright Soft. I won’t get too much into the details, regarding the conversion process of a video file, and I’ll stick to how to use Super Video Converter.

Obviously, the first step is installation. Unfortunately, it’s also the most difficult, the download link being really “hidden” in the download webpage. I won’t let you search too much, so I’ll leave the direct link to the latest Super Video Converter version.

After installation, you’ll have to run the software, and the following screen will appear.

Super Video Converter main screen

Steps to follow:

select file format
select video codec
select audio codec
final video resolution
aspect ratio width/height
frames per second
bitrate (the bitrate multiplied by the number of seconds represents the final file dimension)
audio options
previous settings brief
list of files that will be converted (selection is made by Drag and Drop in the Super window)

Advanced options as the directory for the converted saved files, can be accessed from the contextual menu that you can see while right clicking on any spot on the Super window.

Depending on your CPU and the chosen settings (bitrate, codecs, fps etc) converting a video file can last at least its duration (1 video minute lasts around 1 minute to be converted), but unfortunately Super doesn’t give you an approximate conversion time, so you’ll just have to be patient.

But, at least now you know how to convert video files nice and easy. If you have any comments, don’t be shy and post them below.